Anna-Marie Ashe, Area Real Estate
Anna-Marie Ashe is the CEO and principal broker of Area Real Estate, a comprehensive real estate firm offering commercial and residential real estate solutions in the DMV.
Originally from Baltimore, MD, Anna-Marie became a part-time real estate agent after graduating from Howard University in addition to her full-time job, but it was around 2011 when she was in the process of purchasing her own home that she realized it could support her full-time.
“My lender asked me for the money that I gave my broker for the sales that I had executed that year, and I saw the number. I saw how large it was,” she says. “I thought, if I am able to keep that amount myself, I can quit my job.”
That’s when Anna-Marie set her sights on starting her own brokerage. She got her business license, MLS access, an office space, and then her company took off.
Anna-Marie first came across The Coalition when she was researching networking opportunities to grow her business. She signed up for the organizational listerv and received an email about the upcoming all-female cohort for ELEVATE.
“I had never done a cohort before. I just saw that it was in alignment with what I was looking to do with my business. I had looked at the application and saw that I qualified… I applied and was accepted.”
Anna-Marie had just expanded her brokerage from residential and commercial to include government contracting and was hoping that ELEVATE would help her as she moved into this new business space.
“That’s why I was really looking to get into the ELEVATE program, is because I was looking at a new trajectory of business. It’s a little nuanced. I had the certifications and business in order to start, but I really didn’t know which way to go. It helped a lot to meet other women who were also in government contracting so I could hear from there experience, learn best practices, and develop relationships.”
Now that she’s graduated from the ELEVATE program, Anna-Marie maintains a strong relationship with the other women from the cohort and leans on them regularly for guidance, insights, and connections throughout the government contracting space. She’s focused on improving her business efficiency, obtaining certifications, upgrading her marketing strategy, and pursuing local and federal contracts.
Though she initially started her business just for herself, as time went on, she found that other agents were interested in joining her brokerage, and today, Anne-Marie has a seven-agent team.
ELEVATE was Anna-Marie’s first cohort experience and alleviated some of the trial and error of moving into the procurement space, as she pursues government contracts.
“ELEVATE really gave me a blueprint to ensure I wasn’t all over the place. I hope that I can be of some type of motivation for other women-owned business owners to see that it’s possible. There are other women out here doing it.”